Let's Get Physical Media: The Lee Gambin Memorial Column (July 2024)
Reviews of the following titles released on Blu-Ray courtesy of MVD and Allied Vaughn: The Man From U.N.C.L.E (Arrow!), Allied, Swingers, and Red Line 7000!
The Man From U.N.C.L.E (Arrow) (2016)
Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 116 Minutes
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Henry Cavill, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki
Special Features
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10/compatible)
Original lossless Dolby Atmos sound
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
The Hollywood Way - brand new interview with co-writer/producer Lionel Wigram
A Lineage of Bad Guys brand new interview with actor Luca Calvani
Legacy of U.N.C.L.E. brand new featurette celebrating the original 1960s TV series and its influence on the 2015 movie, featuring Helen McCarthy, David Flint and Vic Pratt
Cockneys and Robbers brand new featurette exploring director Guy Ritchie’s oeuvre, featuring Kat Hughes, Hannah Strong and Josh Saco
Spy Vision: Recreating 60s Cool, A Higher Class of Hero, Metisse Motorcycles: Proper and Very British, The Guys from U.N.C.L.E. and A Man of Extraordinary Talents - five archival featurettes exploring the making of the film
U.N.C.L.E.: On-Set Spy four archival, bite-sized featurettes going behind the scenes on the film set
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Double-sided fold-out poster, featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Barry Forshaw, and a reprinted article from CODEX Magazine on the film’s cinematography
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. based on a hit TV show, opens with a daring, stylish set piece revolving around an elaborate car chase. It sets up precisely what it aims to achieve: to be Guy Ritchie’s take on a Bond film, for better or worse. The chase pits an unstoppable KGB agent, Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), against Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill), the CIA’s best spy. Solo hopes to rescue East German car mechanic, Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander). She is the daughter of a missing German scientist that has come up with a much simpler process for enriching uranium, critical to making a nuclear bomb. Simple enough. We know who’s good, we know how’s bad, we know the mission. Let’s go!
Ritchie has thankfully toned down his hyperkinetic direction and Michael Bay-like editing overload to furnish this rather slick, but shallow take on a spy caper. It’s not something that stays with you but in the moment, as you’re watching it, you’ll be engaged in ways that most escapist entertainment sets out to do. The male leads are worth the price of admission by themselves if you enjoy modern action and Mission Impossible-like antics. For better or worse, Ritchie’s films have always adopted a style over substance fashion, and that can sometimes make for a dark comedic approach (Snatch - saved by Brad Pitt) or it plays like it’s trying too hard to be cool (Sherlock Holmes - I could barely get through it). Going into this, I knew it probably wouldn’t be a great experience given my feelings towards Ritchie as a filmmaker but I also think it’s one of his more tolerable films to where it doesn’t grate on the nerves due to the Bond-like “cool factor” it attempts to employ throughout.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E 4K from Arrow comes fully furnished with a wide variety of features that make this worthwhile for collectors. I can’t say that this is a movie I’ll personally go back to again but for fans, they’ll have plenty to sink their teeth into. You get a number of archival featurettes exploring the making of the film that dives into the behind-the-scenes experience in a way that sparks interest and curiosity. An audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry is also a fun, compelling listen since it delves into the history of spy films and the show itself in context with this recent take.
This is a nice example of why action films, in particular, are worth a 4K upgrade. In the end, what saves this from being a standard spy thriller is the cast - charming, consistent and everyone knows what they signed up for particularly Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Debicki. (Kinda makes sense why Nolan thought to cast her in Tenet if he had seen this film first). It’ll likely leave your mind the second it ends, but this release comes packed with a lot of supplements that are worth exploring for more context. Ritchie always falls into the territory of action directors like Luc Busson and Michael Bay - filmmakers that I respect but whose work never really resonates with me. At least with The Man From U.N.C.L.E, I enjoyed it more than most of this director’s work and a large part of that has to do with the beautiful transfer and package that Arrow did, as one would expect. The Man From U.N.C.L.E
Red Line 7000 (Arrow) (1965)
Label: Arrow
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 110 Minutes
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: James Caan, George Takei, Laura Devon, Skip Ward
Special Features:
Audio commentary by Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman
Bruce Kessler: Man in Motion, a new interview with assistant director Bruce Kessler
Gas, Gears, Girls, Guys & Death, a new visual essay on the film by filmmaker and critic Howard S. Berger
A Modern Type of Woman, a new visual essay on the Hawksian Woman in Red Line 7000 by film scholar Kat Ellinger
Image gallery of posters, lobby cards, and stills
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley
Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley
Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing by film critic Martyn Conterio
What a fascinating and very flawed film from the legendary Howard Hawks that ultimately doesn’t work but is still worth a look. Even when a film like this is imperfect, it’s ultimately still interesting to the point of fascination. It helps to have a connection with the world of stock car racing via my late great dad. Not that I particularly enjoy it, but I made an effort to watch this on his behalf. He would’ve wanted to have seen this, if he hadn’t already. Women and fast cars! McQueen, Takei! What can go wrong? Well…
Red Line 7000 concerns a group of race car drivers and the women who love them; it's a tight-knit group and their positions are very much the definition of their worth. But surprisingly nearly all of the actors, with the lone exception of the dynamic James Caan, are one-dimensional and dull, never springing to life. (Thankfully, after this, Hawks, Caan, and some of the others went on to make the much better El Dorado.) The racing sequences are all pretty much second-unit stuff, stolen from real races, and filled in with greenscreen closeups. It should feel a lot more visceral than it does.
Even if the movie itself ends up coming up short due to pacing issues and a strange portrayal of the women who endure quite a bit of abuse throughout, I still think it should be seen. This film is decidedly not a feminist portrait of a younger generation, because Hawks allows his physically abusive men to be forgiven. Red Line 7000 is ultimately a matter of craft rather than style even if it’s often reserved in its approach. But there’s no denying the fact that isn’t just about horny dudes and the adrenaline rush of stock car racing. The women play a significant role even if their parts are underwritten.
Film historians Julie Kirgo, daughter of Red Line 7000 screenwriter George Kirgo, and Nick Redman provide a fascinating audio commentary which helps to point out and contextualize both the strengths and deficiencies of this feature-length clash between the Old Hollywood and the emerging New. They don’t hold back and have plenty of interesting insights to share. But the real star of the show and the reason to pick up this title is for the excellent video essay by the consistently great Kat Ellinger. “A Modern Type of Woman, a new visual essay on the “Hawksian Woman” in Red Line 7000", is worth the price of admission since she does her research, provide a lot of context and even made me reframe what I just watched in a different way. If you ever see the name Kat Ellinger featured on a Blu-Ray extra, you know you’re about to be educated and enlightened when it comes to film history.
A rather tepid script holds back what could have been a truly great movie. Still there are things that make this a really excellent addition to your collection especially if you’re curious about where Hawks was at this point in time. The abovementioned commentary and video essay are tops even if the film has imperfections. Directors ranging from Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman to John Carpenter and Quentin Tarantino would later arise to pick up the mantle, in their individual ways, on Hawks’ effortless style and economy of storytelling. They all cite his influence and rightfully so. Red Line 7000 has probably been lost in the shuffle for a reason but for Hawks completists, they’ll definitely want to pick this one up. Red Line 7000 Blu-Ray
Swingers (Paramount) (1996)
Label: Paramount
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 96 Minutes
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Ron Livingston
Special Features
Audio Commentary with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn
Audio Commentary with Director Doug Liman and Editor Steve Mirione
"Making It In Hollywood" Original Documentary (split into several parts)
The Cutting Room Floor “Swingblade" featurette
Switching over to Allied Vaughn, I did request a couple of 4Ks of a couple of recent titles but they’re likely arriving next month. However, there were two films of the past that I believe have been reissued and placed in rotation again that I was curious to revisit. What’s funny is realizing that this one here stars Vince Vaughn and the other film chosen is called Allied. Allied… Vaughn. And I’d like to think this was all a matter of coincidence / chance. Sorry I just turned into Ricky Jay at the beginning of Magnolia there for a second.
I’ll never forget going to the Pipers Alley theater in Chicago with my friend Denny to see a double feature of two very different films, Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies and Doug Liman’s Swingers. To say that the latter appealed to both of us would be an understatement. We were definitely several years younger than the main characters played by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn but we still understood their difficulties being single and socially awkward.
We were definitely the guys in the PG-13 movie, but we aspired to be the guys in the Rated R movie. We also aspired to make nerdy, talky movies the likes of Clerks and Swingers to the point where we too ripped off Reservoir Dogs in one of the films we made, using the same song Liman used here with Average White Band’s “Pick Up The Pieces,” so that was surreal for us to see. All that being said, as much as I loved this movie back then, I can’t say that it entirely holds up - which is similar to another movie of this ilk, High Fidelity.
I definitely used to be the Jon Favreau character so it’s a little painful watching some of his antics today especially the answering machine scene. A lot of this makes me cringe now but I also can’t deny that I do laugh despite reservations. It’s still a nostalgia trip in a lot of ways particularly remembering back when my friends would buy Squirrel Nut Zippers CDs and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy during the strange big band swing revival that resulted from the success of Swingers. Nevertheless, I now relate more to the Ron Livingston character who ends up giving the best performance in Swingers especially when he comes to comfort his friend who is going through a severe depression. Vaughn, on the other hand, is less charming now, but way more obnoxious especially in that diner when he’s being incredibly disruptive.
All that aside, I think this is still worthy of anyone’s collection especially if you grew up in the 90s and have a fondness for this time and place. There are no new extra features here, sadly, but carried over from the special edition DVD release that I remember picking up too. There’s the “Making It In Hollywood” documentary that is broken up into a few different parts. The first is the eleven minute featurette Art Imitates Life - Writing Swingers in which Favreau talks to us for a little bit about how he cast the picture, what his writing process was, where a lot of the ideas came from for this movie and how certain actors played a bigger part in getting the movie's tone right than others. Life Creates Art - Getting Swingers Made is a seventeen minute featurette that lets the filmmakers talk about how they pitched the movie and, as the title implies, got it made. Swing Blade, well, that’s three minutes that should be seen - you’ll get a huge chuckle out of this short, I know I did.
Those with an interest in how various low budget indie films do manage to get a shot in between all the blockbusters and bigger Hollywood productions that the studios churn out will appreciate this. It’s great to see how both Liman and Favreau made their way through the independent scene only to explode into blockbuster territory later down the road. Life Imitates Art - Swingers Culture is an eleven minute bit about how the dialogue and catch phrases in the film went on to influence pop culture.
Art Creates Life - Life After Swingers is a nine minute segment that shows how Swingers was essentially a launching pad for Favreau and Vaughn who have obviously gone on to much bigger things since this movie was made. The documentaries are dated in terms of how they’re presented but still certainly a lot of fun to experience now. Ditto the commentary tracks. The long friendship between Favreau and Vaughn comes through, as they seem casual and comfortable with each other. They relate a number of production details as well as ways in which the movie mirrored their lives at the time. A lot of what you see on screen is a version of what happened in reality.
As for the film itself, I still like it overall. It’s dated, it’s imperfect, it doesn’t have the most likeable characters to root for, including whiny Mike, but I’ll admit, moments with the supporting cast really do hold up. Swingers has become a time capsule and certainly remains an entertaining look at how self-absorbed men are. Not much has changed, really. It’d be curious to see what newer generations think of the behavior on display or if they’ll just simply look it at as the enjoyable buddy comedy that it always was. Swingers Blu-Ray
Allied (Paramount) (2016)
Label: Parmount
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 124 Minutes
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Lizzy Caplan, Jared Harris
Special Features: (several featurettes)
From Stage to the Sahara - A closer look at the production design, the stage construction and the use of CG mixed with real locations.
Lights, Pixels, ACTION! - A piece on the visual digital effects, which reveals the extensive use of CGI mixed with the practical.
Through the Lens - Cast & crew elaborate on working with Robert Zemeckis.
A Stitch in Time - Just a minutes on the costume design.
That Swingin' Sound - A look on the creative process behind the music!
'Til Death Do Us Part - A more detailed discussion on the performances of the two stars and their characters.
Story of Allied - Interviews with various cast & crew members sharing their reactions to the story while touching on specific script elements and historical details.
Guys and Gals - More on the remaining characters and performances.
Behind the Wheel - The same talking heads on the various vehicles.
Locked and Loaded - Crew members explain the weapons used.
In addition to Swingers, Allied Vaughn was kind enough to send me a very underrated Robert Zemeckis film that I’ve been eager to revisit since since it opening weekend in the theater with my mom. Perhaps I am a die-hard Zemeckis fan to the core to where I back pretty much of all his work outside of the motion-capture films. Honestly, of his more recent endeavors, I think this one really deserves to be looked at more closely. Allied attempts what Soderbergh set out to do with The Good German without being a pastiche.
The film opens in Morocco in 1942 with Canadian intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) parachuting down in the desert. He is picked up and driven to meet his wife Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard). Obviously, the two are not really married; they haven't even met before. Max is posing as a Parisian phosphate miner, whom Marianne's friends are surprised to learn really exists. They pose as a couple, she helping him with his accent, while plotting to assassinate Germany's ambassador in Casablanca at an exclusive dinner. If things go right or wrong, we’ll soon find out. Is love in the air for these two as well despite coming from different backgrounds? Suffice to say, that’s quite likely; the two leads bring a lot of chemistry and heat (even during a desert sandstorm where they don’t let the weather affect their libido).
Allied’s Blu-Ray is an exquisite production, supported by a transfer that’s flawless in almost every way. I was surprised how much I found to enjoy with this rewatch of a film that I merely thought was very good but now I think it’s really great from beginning to end. There’s depth throughout each image, especially when the film shifts to London. Everything pops. The production boasts rich and supple colors throughout, especially in the first act. The city of Casablanca hasn’t looked this beautiful since, well, Casablanca. Pitt’s suits are impeccable, Cotillard is radiant as usual and we can see nicks in car paint and interior rooms in the London flat. I’m beginning to notice details with each month of physical media reviews now that I’m paying close attention.
I really found the cinematography Zemeckis’ brought this film to life with quite startling which makes this a step above. Its got a true visual palette and a vibrant look that really romances the era. On one of the featurettes they show the pre-visualization art used to prep the film and it is a series of incredibly gorgeous paintings. A lot of this wasn’t shot on location but through the special effects magic that Zemeckis adopts and makes his own with every single film. A lot of what we’re looking at isn’t real, but Zemeckis’ is so good at it that you really can’t figure out a lot of what is and what isn’t actually present. The featurettes are short, sweet and really showcase what makes Zemeckis such an interesting director, even when his scripts fail him. I will admit that I wish the featurettes were longer and less like an HBO quick clip of what it’s like on set, but they’re still worth a look for nerds like me.
A lot of people find a lack of emotion or wallop during the climax but I still found myself quite moved by this film and the outcome. It reminds me a bit of what Spielberg brought to us with Bridge of Spies - a good-old fashioned, well-told story presented confidently, with ingenuity and great acting. Plus the cinematography is truly jaw-dropping at times. Maybe this isn’t an all-time classic but it really deserves to be embraced, instead of dismissed. I’m glad this is out on 4K as well but this is another great release that I hope people will seek out. It’s better than The Man From U.N.C.L.E which brings us full circle with two spy films that I recommend owning for this month. Can’t wait to see what August brings next! Allied Blu-Ray